


We messed up but it can be fixed

by Angelicat2



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: And they are described, Burns, But Not Much, Gen, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Keith gets injured, Kinda, Kuron is Shiro (Voltron)'s Clone, Love Confessions, M/M, Mind Control, POV Allura (Voltron), SHIRO LOVES KEITH, Slight Choking, keith loves shiro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-05-02 16:30:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14548776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelicat2/pseuds/Angelicat2
Summary: She had told Keith she sees him and the others as family. Had she lied? She had acted like it. Not seeing the deep bond Keith shared with their leader. How badly it tore up the young man when Shiro had disappeared for months. How he hadn't wanted to replace his best friend. They, Allura included, had really messed up.And they weren't the ones paying for that now.





	We messed up but it can be fixed

**Author's Note:**

> God...I'm terrible at title names and actually getting my stories out there. Enjoy.

In retrospective, they should have seen this coming.

But they didn't. They hadn't listened. Hadn't seen the warning signs. Or rather, Allura now looks back, ignored the warning signs.

That there was something truly off with Shiro. The haircut, the outfit change, the behavioral difference. He was not like the Shiro they had known before. He was rougher. More about orders than suggestions. And his orders were getting more weird as time had went on. Let down their shield and take the hit. Don't attack Haggar's ship. Stay and investigate the planet turned into a bomb. Give his bayard to Lotor. Not talk about taking the Black Lion to the Galra with the Galran prince.

They had all been fooled. All except Keith. The more Allura thinks, the more it makes sense. The young part-Galran had been pulling away. He had acted stranger than normal when Shiro had gotten back. Shoulder touches turned tense. His eyes had avoided Shiro's as time when on. He never smiled anymore. He said he was leaving to the Blades because he wanted Shiro to be the leader, his rightful place in the Black Lion. 

And they hadn't helped him at all. They had let him walk away, thinking he wasn't wanted. Just that they needed him to form Voltron. Allura was ashamed to think that she had been part of that. If her father could see it, what would he say. He certainly wouldn't be happy with any of them.

_"My daughter," her father had spoken one afternoon before the war had begun, when she was much younger, "A team is your family. If you leave one out, it is no longer a true family. And then your team will fall apart."_

How she had been dumb enough to forget that advice. How it was coming back to haunt them. She had told Keith she sees him and the others as family. Had she lied? She had acted like it. Not seeing the deep bond Keith shared with their leader. How badly it tore up the young man when Shiro had disappeared for months. How he hadn't wanted to replace his best friend. They, Allura included, had really messed up.

And they weren't the ones paying for that now.

Keith stood on the other side of the large room. He was in his Blade of Marmora suit, just back from a mission. He was keeping one eye on the man behind him as his arms were held in the man's larger hand. In that moment, they got a really good comparison of the size of Shiro's Galra hand to Keith's throat as the larger hand wrapped around the younger's neck. If they moved or did anything wrong, the man could snap Keith's neck in seconds. That's why none of them moved from their spots.

"Shiro," Lance started only for the man to adjust his hold on Keith who winced slightly at the pressure.

"You can call me Kuron," the copy cat said with a dead look to his face, eyes glazed as he held steady, "I'm not Shiro."

"Why are you doing this?" Pidge asked as she held her weapon ready, "Why now?"

"Why not now?" The man parroted back in the same tone, "Keith was close to figuring out that I'm not Shiro. I have his memories, but I haven't been acting like him. You guys were easy to trick. But not Keith. Not Shiro's old friend."

"Let him go," Allura nearly hissed as the man stood still while Keith continued to stare at the other, perhaps noting the differences between Shiro and Kuron, "What do you want?"

"It's not what I want," he laughed but there was no emotion in it, almost as if he were a puppet, "It's what's best for the Empire."

"Wait," Hunk blinked before waving his hand about, "Is that why you helped Lotor? Why everything kept being about getting Lotor on the throne?"

"Partially," Kuron nodded from behind ebony hair as his hand stayed firm on Keith's skin, "Lotor had to be protected. It was Ha...It was needed. But him becoming Emperor was not part of the plan."

"Then what was the plan?" Lance questioned as he raised his rifle to eye level only to drop the weapon down when the man squeezed harder on Keith's throat, "Why are you doing this?"

"It's what she wants," Kuron winced as he shifted a little, his eyes narrowing, "The plan's been ruined. And Champion is going to pay for it."

"Shiro?" Keith asked quietly, dark eyebrows twisting down as indigo eyes glared at the man holding him, "Where is he?!?"

"He is where he is," the man stated cryptically as he tightened his metal hand on Keith when he noticed one of them move closer, "His memories of you have compromised me. At first, I ignored them. But after some time, I couldn't forget. How can one forget when their world revolves around one person. All those times you saved me. Even before Kerberos. You had a way with fiercely protecting me."

Allura noted that Keith softened slightly at the comments. The rest of them shuffled a little as they kept their bayards ready to attack when needed.

"But you were getting in the way too much," Kuron scowled as he stared at Keith, "The Black Lion wouldn't take me back. Must have known something was wrong. So I started counteracting all of your orders. I knew it would throw you off. You've been so used to everyone tearing you down that you didn't really notice me doing any different. What Shiro's done to earn your respect and devotion."

"Let Keith go," Allura stated again only for him to ignore her.

"You're so quick to think Shiro would leave you," the man hissed as grey eyes watched the part-Galran who looked away, "But I knew you'd truly never give up on him. It is the Galra way. After all, that's how Zarkon became the way he is. Coran told the story. So I had to get you to leave."

"Where's Shiro?"

"And now, he'll finally pay for what he's done," Kuron talked like he hadn't heard Keith, "The Champion's time is over. Has been for a long time."

"If you're after Shiro," Hunk spoke nervously as he glanced worriedly from Keith to Kuron, "Why not take it out on...Shiro?"

This earned him a dry glare from the boy held hostage and a low chuckle from the imposter.

"This will hurt the Champion more than it did breaking him," another laugh left his lips as Allura tightened her grip on the Blue Bayard, "Coming back to Keith is what kept him sane in the arena. When his arm was removed, he called your name. He begged for you. He wanted his Keith. The young untrusting sharp-as-nails cadet who melted around him. You're important to him. Just like he is to you."

Keith's eyes widened as Allura was sure all of theirs did. 

"Come on, Keith," some emotion flickered across the man's face for the first time since he'd grabbed Keith sharply by the wrist, "Shiro's pessimistic of his future and a bit clueless, but he's not dumb. He saw the notes on your wall. It's killing me when you're away? He watched your biggest fears. He had to watch himself walk away from you. It destroyed him to stand nearby and do nothing while you were beaten and mind tortured. This will kill him."

His hand lit up bright purple. Pale skin sizzled as Keith let out a cry of pain. Said boy tried fighting out of the man's hold only to choke as the hand tightened. Allura noticed the man had shifted over in the fight, his left side unprotected from either side of the wall or Keith's body. Exchanging gazes with Lance quickly, he gave a subtle nod as she turned her eyes back to Keith who was barely breathing. Part of the undersuit of the black armor was burned through. Forming her own weapon, the light caught Kuron off focus. A tick later, Lance shot at his side.

To bad none of them had known how clever Shiro could be. Just as the beam of energy whizzed past Allura, she saw the man twist Keith to the left as he shifted to the right. Slamming the injured late teen into the wall, he released him when the smaller screamed in pain as the laser hit him in the side, clearly ripping through the softer spots in the armor. Keith collapsed onto the floor with a shuttering gasp. Scarlet slid down the grey-white wall as he landed on his uninjured side with a weak grunt.

They charged. Kuron fought unlike anything they'd ever seen. He was practically a blur of white and black armor, violet flame of a hand. Before she could blink, he took down Pidge by letting the small paladin charge her taser only for it to electrocute Hunk who fell. Lance got a graze in, but the beam smashed into Pidge's chest as she flew backwards. Before he could blink, the Black Paladin's elbow crashed into his helmet, knocking him out as he flew a few feet. Allura steadied herself as her whip snapped at Kuron. He dodged out of her way, and weaved his way closer and closer, every flick of her weapon barely tapping him. About a dobosh later, he slammed his left hand across her face. Stars littered her vision as she sagged to the cool floor. She waited for the next blow, only to feel nothing as a small groan sounded from in front of her.

Keith stood precariously in front of Kuron. The Black Bayard was in hand, blade not in the usual form, but rather, a more wicked shape that had never been formed before. His arm shook in a way that said he wouldn't last long. Blood trickled down his side from the wound that should have only burned him as the ruby liquid also spilled from his hurt forehead and broken nose. His throat had a large, five-fingered handprint.

"I k-know you're n-not Sh-shiro," the young man stated as his voice cracked painfully, "But you h-have his memories. You th-thought you were him. And you know wh-what I'd tell Shiro."

He took a weak breath in before continuing with a deep look to his face, eyes large and trusting. Something Allura had never seen on Keith's face in the time she had known him.

"Fight this," he hissed as his dark eyes shone with tears, "Don't let th-them control you. Shiro was scared of th-this and you are too. Come back to us. You have t-to fight th-this. We'll help you. I said as m-many times a-as it takes. I meant it."

"Keith," Kuron's voice pleaded as he glanced down at the trembling friend, "I...I can't...I don't know if...she's too powerful."

The man's appendage powered down as he gripped his head.

"Everything hurts," he panted as he rubbed his temples, "It's too much...I can't do it...I'm sorry...I should have...So sorry..."

"Come on, Kuron," Keith stared determinedly as he let his sword transform into it's dormant state, "You're str-strong. You can do it. Patience yields-"

"Focus," the man breathed heavily as he fell to one knee, "Keith...Keith...Get out of...my...head!"

Allura noticed just ticks after Keith did. A gleam of normal emotion came across Kuron's eyes. He looked less dead than before. His hands no longer clung to his hair, no pained expression on his face.

"I...I think she's gone for now..." His thick brows scrunched down, "Not sure how long it'll last."

Behind the pair, the other three were getting up off the floor, Lance and Pidge helping Hunk up. Before they could attack or think, Keith shook as a deep shiver ran through his body. Kuron caught him just as his feet gave out on him.

"Ow," Keith frowned as he stared up, and Allura heard the older man laugh softly.

"Still doing that?" He asked fondly before frowning, "This is worse than that fight you got into with the group of cadets."

"Survived that. I'll be fine," he acknowledged as his eyelids started to close tiredly, "As long as y-your okay."

"Shiro would be proud of you, Keith," Kuron whispered softly as the younger smiled for the first time in ages, "You've always been selfless just like now...that's just one of the things Shiro loves about you."

"We h-have to find Sh-Shiro," Keith protested tiredly as a small yawn worked its way out of his mouth, "He'll be ha-happy to have a br-brother..."

"Just like he's happy to have you," the lookalike said with a tiny grin, "Just go to sleep, Keith. We'll find him."

"As many times," Keith trailed off as he fell asleep.

"As it takes," Kuron finished.

"Let's get him to a pod," Allura spoke up as she stood up on her feet as she turned to Kuron, "We'll get someone to help you. For now, you seem fine."

"Thanks to Keith," the man stared fondly at the boy in Hunk's arms, "Shiro really does care about him. I'm not sure if Shiro's aware, but he did change Keith's life."

"We'll make sure he knows when we get him back," Pidge spoke as she smiled, "Before that, we need a plan."

Allura let them talk as she guided Hunk to the healing pods. After they slipped Keith into a white healing suit, they gingerly placed him in the pod. It would be at least a quintant for it to completely heal him. They'd cleaned up the blood, so all they could see was the purple bruises on his temple and nose, and the burn on his throat. Allura knew they couldn't let it get this far again. They'd almost lost Keith, a member of their family. They wouldn't be stupid enough to let it happen ever again.

"We'll find him," she whispered to the sleeping man inside the pod, "And then you can tell him."

Then she walked away to get notified of whatever plan the team had come up with. She also needed to get Coran up-to-date with what had happened.


End file.
